


when it hits you like a lightning strike (i guess it must be love)

by Camphalfgalra



Category: The Dragon Prince (Cartoon)
Genre: Canon Compliant, F/M, Falling In Love, Light Angst, Love Confessions, Pining, Pining Rayla
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-20
Updated: 2019-02-20
Packaged: 2019-11-01 04:11:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,103
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17860049
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Camphalfgalra/pseuds/Camphalfgalra
Summary: Runaan once warned Rayla that love was something she couldn’t run away from. She discovers the harsh reality of his words when she discovers just how deep her feelings run for a certain Prince of Katolis.





	when it hits you like a lightning strike (i guess it must be love)

“Runaan?”

“Yes, Rayla?”

“What does it mean when you’re uhm…” 

Runaan’s gaze flickered up from the book he was reading, training his eyes on the eight year old child, who looked embarrassed to be standing there. Her face was scrunched up tightly, like she did whenever she was uncomfortable or uncertain on how to say something. 

Runaan’s gaze softened. “Are you alright, Rayla?”

“What does it mean when you’re...you’re in love?” she asked, cocking her head to the side and staring at Runaan with a small blush on her cheeks. 

“Why do you ask?”

“Well, some of the neighborhood kids were saying that I was in love with some rando,” Rayla said, rubbing her arm uncomfortably. “I showed them my swords and they ran away, but I don’t understand. What does it mean to be in love?”

Runaan sighed softly, folding the page he was reading. Setting the book aside, he motioned to the chair next to him at the kitchen table. 

“Sit. I’ll try my best to explain it to you.”

Rayla chewed on her lower lip nervously before taking a seat next to the other elf, legs crossed on the chair. She propped her elbows up on the table top, letting her head fall on her knuckles as she trained her attention on Runaan. 

Runaan smiled. “Being in love is when….we’ll, It’s when you like someone more than a friend.”

Rayla wrinkled her nose. “You can do that?”

“Of course! Just look at me and–”

“Tinker?”

“That is _not_ his name,” Runaan said with a flat look. “Rayla, falling in love...there’s really no way to explain it. It’s like wanting to protect someone even when they’re being very silly. It’s the feeling you feel in your chest every time you see them, the urge to hug and be around them.”

“Sounds icky. I don’t wanna hug anyone.”

“Falling in love is a beautiful thing, however,” Runaan continued with a small chuckle. “Finding the right person for you? That’s the most beautiful thing.”

“But how will I know if it’s the right person?”

“You’ll feel it in here,” Runaan said with a soft chuckle, pressing two fingers over her heart. “Your heart will tell you when you find the one. Don’t be so scared about love, Rayla.”

He paused, furrowing his brows. “You aren’t in love with the boy the neighborhood girls were bothering you about, right?”

“Ew, no! I don’t wanna fall in love,” Rayla huffed, crossing her arms across her chest. “I wanna fight like you! Swish swish!”

Runaan smiled in amusement. “I’m sure you will soon enough, but even fighting can’t hide you from finding love. You’ll find it soon enough.”

“Sure,” the young elf said with a roll of her eyes. “Whatever you say, Runaan.”

* * *

That was how young Rayla found out about falling in love. When she did, she decided that she’d never fall in love. It was stupid, and useless in her opinion. She vowed to never let herself fall in love. 

Then Callum had to come along and ruin her plans. 

“Ugh! What is the matter with me?!” She scolded herself in frustration, kicking at a pebble on the road next to the rose bushes.

Claudia and Soren has just arrived and Claudia was all over Callum. Like, completely over him. Sure, he volunteered to give her a tour, but it was her fault for accepting. Rayla completely blamed her anger on Claudia and Soren’s arrival. 

“Are you alright, Rayla?”

Rayla’s response was a groan. 

Lujanne chuckled lightly. “Alright, spit it out. What’s wrong?”

“It’s just that...well, Callum is spending all his time making Claudia feel comfortable that he’s forgetting about our stupid mission! It’s like he cares more about her than the fate of the entire world!”

“Are you sure that that’s why you’re mad? Maybe you’re just upset that he’s ignoring you over her,” Lujanne said with a knowing grin. 

“What?”

“Well, you didn’t seem too upset about him not wanting to leave until Claudia showed up,” Lujanne said innocently. “A little telling, don’t you think?”

Rayla stared at her blankly. “What are you trying to say, you old hoot?”

“Who are you calling old?”

“Just get to the point!”

“Fine. You’re jealous, Rayla. Don’t even try to deny it at this point, because you’re really late for that,” Lujanne grinned. 

Rayla gaped at her, eyes widening. “I am not–no! I am not jealous of Claudia! Why in the world would I be jealous of her?!”

“I didn’t say you were jealous of her, did I?”

“I...You’re insane,” Rayla declared, heat rising to her cheeks. “I am not jealous. That’s not a word in my vocabulary!”

“You just said it, so it must be! Besides, there’s really no point in trying to hide it. You glare daggers at her every time you see the top of her head!”

“I am not jealous, you old mage,” Rayla said indignantly. “Why would I be jealous? Callum is just a good friend!”

“Oh really? So if I told you that Claudia and Callum are going on a date later on together, you wouldn't mind?” Lujanne asked, innocently batting her eyelashes. 

Something inside of Rayla ran cold as the moon mage’s words registered in her mind. 

“I...no. Why would I care? I don’t like him like that.”

“Keep lying to yourself, dear. I can’t wait until it finally hits you like lightning that you like him.”

“You are insane,” Rayla declared as she walked away from Lujanne, a small blush still dusting her cheeks. There was no way the old mage was right. She wasn’t in love with Callum. There was no reason, no way that she was right. 

That feeling of lingering doubt, however, stayed with her even after they left Lujanne.

* * *

_When it hits you like lightning._

“Ugh. I know that face. It’s the dumb idea face,” Rayla said with a small smirk, gaze flickering directly over to Callum. 

Lightning flashed overhead as she finished her sentence, Lujanne’s words ringing in her mind as she registered how close Callum actually was, smiling at her just as softly as she smiled at him. 

_When it hits you like lightning. When it hits you like lightning._

“Every time the lightning strikes, I can feel something.”

 _Yeah_ , Rayla whispered internally to herself, _me too._

But she was sure they weren’t talking about the same thing.

* * *

The realization of the extent of her feelings for Callum hit her like a ton of bricks a week later, when Callum ended up in a comatose state after tampering with dark magic. On the outside, she put on the annoyed facade, acting like she was angry with him and treated him like a child for his actions. 

On the inside? She was ready to cry when she glanced over at his body, his eyes looking as if they were bruised. A feeling of pain, of restlessness, settled down in her very core, a sudden feeling of over protectiveness washing over her. 

_“It’s like wanting to protect someone, even when they’re being very silly.”_

She felt a sudden pang in her chest as she felt his hand twitch on her lap, his face scrunching up slightly before returning to its tense look. She hated seeing him like this. Callum was lively–a bit idiotic and silly at times, but he was fun. He was someone who Rayla could hang around with for more than twenty four hours and never get bored of. 

Callum was Callum, and that made her insides flutter just a bit every time she thought about it. 

_Callum_. Just the name sent a whole wave of emotions through her body, feelings of excitement and fear. Excitement at the prospect of finally finding someone who she had began to like as more than just a friend, and fear for the same reason. 

She huffed quietly to herself. Runaan had never mentioned anything about being afraid of love. Could she even call it that? Love? Was it really that? What if it was just a sort of appreciation for him? After all, she had only known him for a month, at most. Certainly a normal person couldn’t fall in love within a month. 

Then again, Rayla wasn’t a normal person. She was a moonshadow elf, for crying out loud! It only served as a way to confuse her even more, but the feeling of fear overrode her annoyance. 

Fear. Fear that Callum wasn’t going to get better. Fear that if it was love, she wouldn’t know to deal with it. Fear that Callum wouldn’t love her back if it was love. Fear of _everything_. 

“Stupid human,” she sighed softly, squeezing his hand gently. “You confuse me, you know?”

No response. 

“I don’t know if I should hate you or thank you for making me experience this. I think that it shouldn’t matter, but it does. I swear Callum, if you don’t die, I’ll kill you myself,” she joked lightly, her tone lacking any real malice. 

Still no response. It was the norm now as of the past five hours. 

“Please don’t die. I promise I won’t kill you. I just want you to be okay again,” she said softly, reaching a hand out to part his bangs. “I just want my stupid human back.”

Time without Ezran—and Corvus, whoever he was— around gave her a lot of time to reflect over what Callum meant to her. Of course she never came up with a solid answer, but it always teetered on the edge of that four letter word that she refused to say. 

Runaan was right. She couldn’t hide from it. That didn’t necessarily mean that she enjoyed the constant torture her heart felt every time Callum’s hand twitched in her grasp, or how his face would scrunch up in pain occasionally. It was absolute torture watching him suffer. 

_“Your heart will tell you when you find the one.”_

The rapid beating of her heart betrayed her as she tried to push her thoughts away from love. Never before bad she felt something so intense for someone, not even Runaan who was practically like a father to her. They only came back at full force when Callum actually began lashing out in his dreams, face scrunched up in pain and panic. 

It scared her senseless, and all she could do was hold onto him tightly, begging him to be alright with tears pooling in her eyes. 

“Callum! Wake up! You’ve got to stay with me!”

All of her senses were thrown out the window as she grabbed him in her arms, embracing him tightly. All she wanted to do was hug him, to hold him, hoping and praying to whatever deity was out there that her stupid boy would be okay. 

“Oh, Callum! Please, come back. It doesn’t matter what you did before. I just want you to be okay again.”

There was the word again, flashing in her mind. Love. Undeniable, stupid, crazy love for one crazy, stupid boy who had changed her world for the better. She was terrified of losing him, of losing the one who somehow made everything better, even when it really didn’t work. 

“I can’t lose you like this. You mean too much to me!”

She paused slightly, eyes full of worry as she closely reached out a hand to cup his cheek, a thousand feelings raging through her mind and body. 

“Callum, I...I…”

 _“...I love you,”_ were the words that she never got a chance to say after Callum woke up all of a sudden, his pale color and bruised eyes gone and replaced with vibrant green eyes and flushed, glowing skin. 

There it was. The undeniable, four letter word that described how she felt about the stupid prince. Love. Undeniable, stupid love that she felt inside but couldn’t bring herself to say out loud. 

Runaan was right. She couldn’t hide from it or avoid it. It had found her, and it had nestled inside of her so deeply that it was a permanent reminder of the words she had said as a child. 

_“Sure. Whatever you say Runaan.”_

Oh, how she wished she could go back in time and slap her younger self right across the face and yell at her to not be so cocky or bold, because love would find her and grab her by a firm chokehold. 

Love, Rayla decided, was something stupid. That ‘something stupid’ was Callum, and she loved him, even if she couldn’t bring herself to say it out loud. 

How she loved him and his stupid self indeed.

**Author's Note:**

> The lightning scene holds a special place in my heart as of season two which was AMAZING so this happened hehe. Hope you enjoyed it! <3 (Also, shameless self promo, but follow me on tumblr on my tdp sideblog @callayla !)


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